


A Whole Lot of Love for a Little Person

by wafflefries



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Art major Steve Rogers, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Canon Gay Relationship, Domestic Fluff, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Gay Bucky Barnes, Idiots in Love, M/M, Mutual Pining, Natasha Romanov is So Done, Past Relationship(s), Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson Is a Good Bro, bucky and steve are clueless, political science major Bucky Barnes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-02-05
Packaged: 2019-10-06 13:04:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17345735
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wafflefries/pseuds/wafflefries
Summary: Bucky needs a fake boyfriend to make his ex jealous, Steve needs help writing his English lit paper so they strike a deal.The winter break fic you never knew you needed.





	1. Steve is late, what's new?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Steve is late to class (as usual) and Bucky just needs a break.

"Steve," a voice said shaking Steve Rogers from his dream. Steve groaned, trying to move more under the covers, till his feet were almost sticking out from the end of the bed. "Steve!" the voice said more aggressively, "Get the fuck out of bed before I pour this boiling coffee on your tiny head!"  
"Okay okay, I'm getting up chill, the fuck out," Steve grumbled sitting up and rubbing his eyes.  
"Good because you know I would have done it, Rogers," Sam smirked handing Steve a Pete's coffee cup.  
"Yeah, yeah now get the fuck out of my room Sam before I kill you."  
"Rogers that," Sam said with a wink as he exited the room. Steve sighed and tried to hide his smile. He knew he was lucky to have a best friend/roommate like Sam, but sometimes he was so fucking irritating. Steve glanced at the alarm clock next to his bed it read 9:45. So that's why Sam had woken him up, his English Lit class started in 20 minutes. "Fuck," Steve swore under as he frantically pulled himself out of bed. He downed his coffee and pulled on his wrinkled pants and paint stained shirt and tore out his bedroom. He ran into the kitchen and quickly put on his shoes as fast as he could  
"Don't forget your books!" Sam yelled just as Steve was about to run out of the apartment.  
"Shit your right," Steve said as he swiped all the books on the kitchen counter into the backpack that laid on the floor. Steve quickly zipped up his backpack and ran out the door.  
"Bye, honey see you at eight!" Sam yelled after him. Steve rolled his eyes but didn't stop to reply like he regularly would to make a retort. He checked his watch, 10:04 he was just going to make it there by 10:15 if he ran.  
He pushed the door of his apartment complex open and ran out into the cold winter air. He kept his head down while he ran across campus. His chest burned, and his fingers and toes stung from the cold.  
Steve finally reached the building. He was still running as he went up the steps, and through the door, and straight into someone, causing the person's books to go flying. "Shit, I'm so sorry!" Steve said as he collected the books that fell.  
"Rogers," a familiar voice chuckled " I should have known it was you." Steve looked up right, into the of the one and only Bucky Barnes. Marvel University's most annoying individual.  
"Bucky," Steve grumbled handing Bucky his books.  
"Now don't sound too happy to see me," Bucky smirked, "you know I look forward to these few days a week where I have the honor of sitting next to you in class." Steve didn't think it was possible for him to roll his eyes that far back in his head. For some reason, Steve was unlucky enough to have to sit through an entire semester of Bucky Barnes in English Lit, and for some reason, Bucky had chosen to try to annoy Steve as much as he could. Steve and Bucky weren't exactly friends, but they were in the same friend group. Sam and Bucky's best friend, Natasha, always hung out. Along with Tony Stark, his best friend Rhodey, and Clint Barton. Steve didn't hate Bucky, but he did have a small crush on him. So naturally, Steve avoided him as much as possible since there was no way Bucky could ever reciprocate his feelings.  
He shoved past Bucky and went into the classroom. He took his seat in the back of the classroom. Practically as soon as he sat down Bucky emerged beside him.  
"So Stevie," Bucky said, "how's it going with the uh art stuff?"  
"fine," Steve muttered, pulling out the books from his backpack. "Shit" he swore under his breath, realizing he forgot his textbook.  
"What's wrong?" Bucky asked, clearly amused.  
"I forgot my fucking textbook," Steve growled putting his face down on the table in front of him.  
"Well, you can just share with me!" Bucky said, a little too eager "unless that is you want to spend the entirety of class confused out of your cute little head." He stated with a wink. Steve blushed determined to ignore the effect Bucky's words had over him.  
He said nothing but moved closer to Bucky as he opened his textbook when the professor walked into the room.  
Steve spent the entire class half trying to concentrate on what the professor was saying, and the other half staring at Bucky and the way his hair framed his face when he bent down to look at the textbook.  
Bucky was handsome, Steve had to admit it. His long hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, but a few strands had escaped framing his face. He had a slight stubble, which gave him a roguish look. He had beautiful blue eyes that lit up when he smiled.  
Steve had liked Bucky pretty much since the first moment he met him in freshman year, but Steve had trouble letting people into his life. It was now Junior year and Steve hadn't even attempted to make a move. So he avoided Bucky. That is until they somehow ended up in the same friend group as well as the same English Lit class. There was also no way the handsome and charming Bucky Barnes would like scrawny Steve Rogers.  
"See something you like there Rogers?" Bucky said.  
"Er uh no shut up," Steve said as his entire face turned the color of a tomato. Steve hadn't realized he had been staring at Bucky for as long as he had.  
Finally, after what felt like forever, the class ended. Steve packed up as quickly as he could, determined to get away from Bucky as fast as he could.  
"Until next week," Bucky said with a wink. Steve rolled his eyes, face flushing, and continued walking.

 

Bucky's day was going well, that is until he got the call from his mom telling him his ex-boyfriend, T'Challa Boseman, and his family would be attending the Barnes's annual Christmas party. And of course, T'Challa would be bringing his new boyfriend.  
Bucky had woken up the same as he always did. He went for a run, got him and his roommate Natasha coffee, and got dressed still with an hour to spare till his English Lit class.  
Bucky sat at the table in the kitchen drinking his coffee and reading his latest novel. He heard a bang and a screech shortly followed by Natasha dragging herself out of her bedroom and into the kitchen.  
"Good morning sunshine!" Bucky said. Natasha only grumbled and flipped Bucky off. "Love you too Nat!" Natasha still didn't reply, only swiped the coffee from the counter and sat down across from Bucky. She slowly drank her coffee, looking less and less murderous as she did. By the time her coffee was finished, Natasha was back to her usual, only slightly scary self.  
"You have a class soon with your hubby soon Buck." Natasha loved to tease Bucky about Steve, everyone knew that Bucky had a crush on Steve. He had since freshman year. Well everyone, but Steve apparently. Bucky dropped as many hints as humanly possible, but either Steve didn't notice or wasn't interested. Eventually, Bucky had given up and started dating a guy from Brooklyn named T'Challa Boseman. T'Challa was everything Bucky wanted, handsome, kind, and his parents approved. In fact, T'Challa's family was good friends with the Barnes family. Though Bucky couldn't lie, he wasn't Steve.  
"He's not my 'hubby.' He's not my anything," Bucky said trying to mask his disappointment. He tried not to think of Steve or his blue eyes with the speck of green in them or the fact that his smile made Bucky's stomach do flips. Bucky shook his head. He needed to get over his ridiculous crush. Bucky checked his watch, 9:20. "but you're right I should probably go to class." He stood up swinging his backpack over his shoulder and started out the door.  
"Just make sure to keep it in your pants, James!" Natasha called after him as he left.  
Bucky walked down the sidewalk, letting the cold winter air hit his face. He tucked his hands into his pockets and buried his face in his scarf. He let his mind drift to his upcoming winter break. He was excited to go home and see his sister Becca, but he wasn't as excited to see his parents. The only thing his parents cared about was his grades and whether or not Bucky was dating anyone. His parents didn't care that Bucky was gay, at least they didn't anymore, they just wanted him to get married. Everyone in Bucky's parent's social circle wanted to marry their children before they even graduated from college. Bucky just wanted to find the right person and then the rest would fall into place. He also he did not want to run into a certain ex-boyfriend on his winter break.  
Before long Bucky reached the building where his class was. He went up the steps, taking two at a time. The door to the classroom wasn't open just yet, so he remained in the hallway.  
Not even five seconds later, a flash of blond hair ran straight into Bucky making his books go flying. "Shit, I'm sorry!" Steve Rogers said as he started to pick up Bucky's books.  
"Rogers, I should have known it was you." He laughed bending down to grab the books from Steve. Steve looked, to say the least, adorable. His hair was everywhere, his two sizes too big clothes were wrinkled and stained with paint, but Steve Rogers was still the most beautiful person to walk the earth.  
"Bucky," Steve grumbled. Bucky tried not to show that it got to him a little that Steve didn't like him.  
"Now don't sound too happy to see me," Bucky smirked, "you know I look forward to these few days a week where I have the honor of sitting next to you in class." Steve just rolled his eyes and walked into the classroom.  
Steve ended up forgetting his textbook, so Bucky was lucky enough to get to sit closer to Steve. For textbook sharing purposes of course.  
Bucky loved English Lit. Bucky actually just loved English. He loved reading. Had since he was a kid. He had always wanted to be an English teacher. He wanted to watch kids grow to love literature as he had, but unfortunately, it just wasn't in his future. His dad intended for him to go to law school and eventually take over his law firm.  
When class ended Steve rushed out of the classroom as fast as he could, leaving Bucky only mildly disappointed.  
As Bucky packed up his books, he felt his phone ring in his pocket. He took it, out seeing that it was his mother calling. Reluctantly he hit the accept button.  
"James," his mother yelled into the phone "I'm so glad I caught you!"  
"Hi, mother," Bucky grumbled into the phone.  
"I just wanted to let you know that the Boseman's will be coming to Christmas dinner," Bucky's stomach dropped, "and since I know you and the Boseman's son had been canoodling last summer, I just thought you should know!" Bucky couldn't believe it. Of course, his parents would do that. Why wouldn't they? Bucky's feelings were irrelevant to their high-class lifestyle. "Also the Boseman's son will be bringing a date, so maybe you should find one yourself!" She said happily. And with that, she hung up. Oh, Shit, Bucky thought, what am I going to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! I promise it will get interesting soon!! Comment down below what you think!


	2. Bucky has a dumb idea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> steve fails his paper, bucky just wants to help

Before Steve knew it, it was Wednesday and time for his English Lit class. The two days had gone by fairly quickly. He had spent all of Monday and Tuesday working.  
Earlier that year, Steve had taken a job bussing at a local restaurant called Patrick's Pub. So, most of the time Steve wasn't in class or studying, he was working at Patrick's. It didn't pay much, but it was enough to keep up with his part of the rent, though that meant not getting new clothes for a while. The job itself wasn't that bad, even if it meant regularly interacting with other people. The biggest problem was Steve's boss, Rick. He was rude, arrogant, and Steve had a hard time biting his tongue around him.  
"Rogers," Rick had yelled at him Tuesday night "someone clogged the bathroom, go unclog it."  
"But Sir, I'm a busser, not a janitor," Steve said as politely as he could.  
"Did I ask what your job was." Rick had said, "Go get the plugger from the storage closet and fix the damn toilet." Steve had had almost told Rick where he could stick his stupid plunger, but he had kept quiet and done as he was told. Steve had gone to bed that night completely and utterly exhausted and if it wasn't for Sam, he would have slept through his alarm, again.  
He walked to class, still half asleep, the cold wind doing nothing to wake him up. The sky was bright blue, but it must have been at the most 10 degrees outside. Despite the cold, it was beautiful outside. The snow shone like crystals in the sunlight and the icicles hanging on the buildings reflected light across surfaces.  
When Steve got to class, he took his seat in the back of the classroom. Steve had expected Bucky to be there already, but he was nowhere to be seen. Steve couldn't help, but be a little disappointed. Even though he pretended to hate these classes with Bucky he actually enjoyed spending time with him.  
Just as Steve started to lose hope that Bucky wasn't coming when he walked in looking a little worse for wear. His normally perfect hair was messy and tangled, his skin was pale, and there were bags under his eyes.  
Bucky sat down next to Steve and took his books out of his bag.  
"Hey, Buck," Steve ventured "you doing okay?" Bucky put on a smile.  
"Yeah of course I am," he said, but his smile didn't quite reach his eyes "are we all still going to lunch later today?"  
"Yeah, if Sam can pull himself out of bed," Steve said and Bucky chuckled. Just then the professor walked in.  
"Good morning class!" professor McDonnell smiled "I hope you all have had an excellent morning and to make it even better I have your grades for your last paper!" A collection of groans came from all 24 students. "Not to worry, if you didn't do as well as you hoped I am assigning other paper on To Kill a Mockingbird worth 20% of your grade!" even more groans "The paper will be due a week after you get back from winter break so please start before then!"  
Steve wanted to cry. Sure he was good at art, but writing was NOT his thing. Since it was a small class Professor McDonnell began to hand back the papers. He went by rows, so Steve and Bucky got theirs last.  
When Steve's paper was deposited onto the desk in front of him Steve's stomach dropped. Right on the paper, there was a big F in blue right on the center of the page.  
"Fuck," Steve swore.  
"What's wrong Stevie?" Bucky said looking over "oh..shit"  
"'Oh shit' is right Bucky. What am I going to do?" Steve said looking at Bucky. Bucky sat back in his chair, he seemed to be thinking. Suddenly his face lit up. "What?" Steve said starting to get a little annoyed.  
"I have a proposition for you," Bucky said with a smirk that made Steve's knees go weak.

Monday and Tuesday had dragged by so slowly Bucky thought the might never end He had spent those two days panicking about going home for vacation. He couldn't face T'Challa, especially if he had a new shiny boy toy with him. T'Challa was probably still angry about the breakup as well.

It was during the summer going into sophomore year. Almost a year ago. T'Challa and Bucky had been dating since the second semester of freshman and things were going quite well.  
Bucky and T'Challa sat by the pool at the country club in the hot summer air, letting their feet dangle in the water. Suddenly T'Challa reached over and grasped Bucky's hand. Bucky looked over and smiled taking in how gorgeous his boyfriend was.  
"Babe," T'Challa said looking directly into Bucky's eyes "I love you." Bucky was stunned, he hadn't known what he thought T'Challa was going to say, but it certainly wasn't that.  
"I, um, just don't see myself ever feeling the same way about you...ever" Bucky mumbled trailing off slightly at the end. T'Challa looked at him, his eyes welling up with tears that only made Bucky feel worse. Bucky knew there was probably a better way to have said that, but it didn't make what he said any less true. He thought that they were just fooling around, casually dating.  
"Well then," T'Challa said, "I'm not sure what I'm still doing here then." And without another word, he got up and left.

"Absolutely not!" Steve said as Bucky and Steve headed toward the dining hall to meet their friends for lunch.  
"C'mon please, we could help each other out," Bucky begged. They entered the dining hall, seeing that they were the last to arrive.  
"Did you not hear what I said Bucky? No, abso-fucking-lutly not" Steve said taking a seat next to Sam at the table. Bucky sat across from him in between Natasha and Tony.  
"Oh great," Nasha moaned rolling her eyes "They're arguing again. What's the problem this time boys?"  
"Bucky wants to be to pretend to be his boyfriend over winter break to make his stupid ex-boyfriend jealous!"  
"I said I'd help him not fail English Lit! I personally think that's an amazing trade!" Bucky said, desperate to convince Steve. "And," Bucky continued, "It's not just to make him jealous, he's bringing his new boyfriend and I have to look like I won the breakup!"  
"Bucky," Sam said rolling his eyes "that's insane, you can't actually think your parents would believe that! You and Steve can't be in the same room for two minutes without fighting!"  
"Exactly!" Steve yelled.  
"I don't know," Natasha said, "Steve you never leave campus for breaks anyway and if you fail English Lit it could jeopardize your financial aid." Bucky hadn't thought about that, so he would probably end up helping Steve, no matter what Steve decided on.  
"Plus Bucky's parents are loaded so his house is probably sick," Tony said making Bucky roll his eyes.   
"Coming from you Tony, that's rich, no pun intended," Bucky said with a wink. He could practically hear Natasha rolling her eyes. Steve seemed to actually be considering it and Bucky started to feel his panic about the upcoming break lessen.  
"I don't know Buck..." Steve replied, "it would be really hard to convince your parents.."  
"Also I'll...do your laundry for the next month after break!" Bucky blurted out. Steve pondered this.  
"Make it two months and you've got yourself a deal," Steve said.  
"Deal," Bucky replied sticking out his hand. Steve shook it.  
"I'm going to regret this aren't I?" Steve questioned and Bucky just smiled.  
"Probably," Sam muttered from next to him.


End file.
